REAL MEN TOOK COFFEE BREAKS

26 FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, CONTINUED

It wasn't just Jude who suddenly lost his shark-like edge either. Neil and Jax had totally relaxed too.

Jax pulled out a barstool for himself, "Can I have a coffee Mimi? I missed your coffee."

"What, they don't serve coffee at the Lorents?" Jude smirked. But he was smirking at Jax, and I didn't have that urge to punch him this time.

"We're at Night Leaf now." Jax boasted.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Mimi quickly looked about her counter, "Sam... come sit. I'll put on the coffee. Do you drink coffee Sam?"

Mimi disappeared behind the bar counter without waiting for an answer and pulled up a coffee machine.

"I'll help, Mimi." Neil stood up and took the machine from her so she could go fetch the carafe. I guess he sorely wanted coffee too.

"Bless you, Neil." Mimi said appreciatively.

Jax patted Neil's newly vacated barstool and gave me a saucy wink.

Neil placed the coffee machine on the counter and moved around me to plug it in, "Yeah, princess. You might as well sit there."

So I ended up sitting between Neil and Jax, watching Neil set up a regular drip coffee machine. It was just like the ones in our Packhouse Kitchen.

Mimi put in the filter and ground coffee, when she flipped on the power, I could hear the machine starting, but I couldn't smell a thing, so that felt weird since I wholly expected the smell of fresh brew to permeate the air, but I continued to smile and pretend the dearth of smells wasn't bothering me in the slightest.

"Oh, that's the last of the milk." Mimi announced when she magicked out a gallon bottle of milk, it only had what looked like a few mouthfuls of white liquid left though, like I would totally just drink out from the bottle if I found that in my fridge.

"Jude, where are all your boys? Can any one of them pick up some milk on the way back?" Mimi shook the bottle towards Jude, then she smiled at us, "It's been a ghost town since breakfast. I never know where the boys are half the time."

Probably getting in trouble. But of course I didn't say that aloud.

"How would you like your coffee, my dear?" Mimi stirred in a bit of milk in the first two mugs she poured and placed them in front of Neil and Jax.

"Ah! That hit the spot, right there!" Jax took a first sip and shut his eyes to encase himself in his own personal estasy.

Ah... I looked away from Jax and shook my head, "It's okay. I don't really drink coffee."

Cos I'm just a pup - at least with regards to this strange obsession adults had with coffee.

"Oh, of course. Silly me, a princess would drink tea." Mimi decided, "I'll make some right now."

I shook my head quickly, "No need, Mimi. Thanks, but I'm good."

Plus I don't think you'd have enough milk to go around. I only drank tea that was mostly milk.

"Well, there must be something I could get you." Mimi insisted. She turned to check the bar fridge. It was decked with cans of beer. Mimi frowned, "Who emptied my fridge?"

It looked packed to the brim to me.

"Ah, I think the boys were gonna have a round or two later today." Jude said, "Your stuff's probably in the kitchen. I'll go check."

"Oh, thank you baby. Help mama check if there's a can of soda or something." Mimi instructed.

Hahaha. Mimi called Jude baby. Pffftttt.... That's a pretty big baby.

Jude ducked off through the door behind the counter. I guess the kitchen was through there.

Mimi turned back to me and worried, "I don't suppose princesses drink soda either."

Jude popped back with a bright smile, "I found diet coke, tomato juice, and bitter tonic."

He put one of each on the counter in front of me. The next time we had a forfeit game, I was going to offer these three exact items.

Mimi didn't seem to feel these were suitable for princesses either.

"Not even a 7up?" She sighed, "I'm so sorry, my dear. You've come all this way and I don't even have anything for you to drink."

I immediately felt bad, "It's alright, Mimi. Do you have water? Just water would be really good."

Jude raised a brow and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Mum always said not to be picky when we are visiting. I must look like some super picky brat right now.

"You really don't have to mind me." I tried to explain to Mimi, "Jude rescued Neil and Jax from some hanging trap, and then brought us here so we didn't get caught in the enemy retreat. I still owe Jude my thanks, so you don't have to worry about drinks or whatever."

"Oh," Mimi blinked, "So that's what happened...." And then Mimi returned to worrying about the drinks again, "Still, I should've been more prepared! We just hadn't had polite company for such a long time."

I laughed then, "I'm hardly polite company, Mimi. I just showed up unannounced. I didn't even bring a gift for my host."

(Let's just never tell Mum about this.)

"Oh yeah. Your betas or one of the higher ups usually does that for you." Jax remembered.

Does what? Now I blinked, nonplused.

"Don't worry, princess. Ol' Jax'll take care of it." He put down his mug and cleared his throat, "Ahem, Alpha Princess is here!"

Oh.

"I don't mean that kind of unannounced, dummy!" I snapped back. Wth. That was just as embarrassing.

Jax grinned, "Don't mind it, princess, with ol' Jax around, you won't even miss them."

I wasn't missing them.

"Oh yeah?" Neil grinned. No, Neil, don't egg him on! "What about the present? I bet Ki would have flowers or something like that up his sleeve."

Ki was my beta, not a popping magician!

Jax was not phased at all, "The Alpha Princess' present is her presence! Eh? Eh?"

Jax was VERY proud of himself for that one.

I groaned, "Please just stop, guys. Just gimme a break!"

Neil laughed, and soon Mimi and Jax were laughing too.

Jude returned with a bottle of water, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Mimi said.

She was right. It wasn't really anything that funny, just a little fun, I guess.

Jude put the water on the counter in front of me, "It's still good. I checked the expiry."

I didn't even know bottled water had expiry dates. I smiled and picked up the bottle, "Thanks Jude."

"Ah wait!" Jax lifted a hand.

What? We all stopped, because we thought he had something important to say.

"Princesses can't drink straight up from the bottle." Jax announced.

Why not? I did it all the time. Oh no... Jax was still in "beta" mode.

Jax tapped the counter with all the air of authority of an idiot, "We need a glass and straw, pronto!"

If Jax hadn't picked up his precious mug of coffee at that exact moment, I would have punched his shoulder. Wth was he getting on about now?

Jax took another sip of coffee and smacked his lips, "Don't worry princess, even if your betas aren't around, Jax here will take care of everything!"

"Please no." I said shaking my head, "You really don't have to."

In fact you really shouldn't.

"Well, if it's just a straw and glass..." Mimi smiled and produced the said items from under the bar counter.

"Allow me." Jax held out his hand for my bottle. I didn't really need help!

"Ahem. Princess. Your bottle." Then again, Jax acting uppity was quite amusing, so I let him have my unopened bottle, just to see what he would do.

Jax took the bottle, turned the cap and broke the seal, then he took off the cap with a flourish and tipped the bottle to empty it into the glass too quickly so that the straw got push out and toppled onto the counter.

"Ah! Pop!" Jax said.

"Pop?" Neil asked. His face crumpled in a wry smile. When Neil smiled, he reminded me of Popeye the sailor man. I mean, I just noticed, like one of his eyes would get smaller than the other.

"Don't you know?" Jax regained his imperiousness, "That's how betas cuss when the princess is around."

He hadn't heard Ben in action at the Warlock lands yet.

Mimi pulled out another new straw.

"Thanks Mimi." I took it directly from her and popped it into the glass of water to drink before Jax thought up anything else to embarrass me with. The water was good, I had needed it after running around so much.

Mimi finished making the last two mugs and passed one to Jude, then the adults took a moment's pause, just inhaling and loving their coffee. I don't think they realized they were doing it, but I've noticed adults do this whenever they got together with good coffee. I sipped on my water politely and waited for someone to start talking again.

"So... is there no coffee at Night Leaf?" Jude leaned onto the counter and smirked at Jax and Neil when the golden coffee moment had passed.

"It's not the coffee that's the problem." Neil winced, "But the real men there have to drink it black."

"Not even with sugar!" Jax piped in.

Surely these two idiots jest!

I shook my head, "Come on guys, you can't be serious."

"I've investigated it thoroughly." Neil assured his listeners, "Alpha Kingsley drinks his coffee black."

That's true. Dad drank coffee like water. Everyone knew that. If Dad were to visit anyone's home, black coffee would automatically be offered. Dean had told me so. His mum, Florence, had gone as far as to procure a french press, just in case Dad ever visited their home. Dean's house only ever had instant coffee, but just for the occasions which Dean's family invite us over to their home, Florence would buy freshly ground beans.

While the adults were talking in the living room on one such occasion, Dean brought be to the kitchen and tried to pour out the last drop of coffee for a taste.

"It makes a difference." Dean told me knowingly, "Especially since its drunk black."

I wouldn't know. At the time, all my family used at home was instant coffee too.

"His Beta Lucas too." Neil said as if that would tilt the argument in his favor.

"That's two men." I did the math.

Jax shook his head, "No, Princess. You need to hear us out. It's not just Alpha King and his beta. All your betas take their coffee black too."

Well, now that he mentioned it, I realized I had no idea. I've seen Ben take his coffee black though - but I had never given it much thought.

"And Gamma Harry." Neil said, "The one name Endo too."

"That guy's real bad***." Jax said.

Neil winced and looked upwards, "A real Rambo, that one."

What's a Rambo? Neil sounded like he was giving Gamma Endo a high compliment.

"Look," This was nonsense, and least anyone felt that Night Leaf was such a place to oppress a wolf's coffee preferences, I added, "Everyone can drink their coffee anyway they like."

And then I remembered something, "Beta Gerald takes his coffee with milk!"

Yes! I remembered that's how he drank it when we visited that mother with too many kids during his Sunday rounds.

Jax was not impressed, "That's the admin beta right?"

"I'm sure there are warrior wolves who drink their coffee with milk." I argued. Although I couldn't think of any. I tried to recall Sunday's breakfast with the Alpha, but its not like I noticed these things.

"There's always was flask of warm milk and sugar next to the coffee in the packhouse dining hall." I reasoned. Surely someone used them!

"Warm milk and sugar is for the women." Jax said haughtily, and then he took a sip of his own milky sweet coffee. There were two whole heaps of sugar in that connoction. I saw Mimi put it in with my own eyes.

Neil's mouth flattened and then he lowered his voice, "Actually, Dave told me he drank his coffee with milk and sugar at home."

"No!" Jax gasped.

Mimi and Jude looked amused. I was more exasperated than anything. Why did they have to make a storm in a tea cup? (Or coffee cup.)

"He said he was only doing it to accompany his mate though." Neil added.

"Yeah, right." Jax snorted.

Wait, why were we talking about this? Why were we even drinking coffee? There was a rogue war out there, and I still had wolves in the warlock lands! I should go, but when I looked at Jax and Neil, each man cradling his coffee mug, I couldn't quite bare to tear them away. Okay, we'd stay for one coffee, but we were leaving once they were done.